A New Skill for a New Work Reality: Influencing Without Authority

| September 29, 2010

Rocco Dal Vera

CINCINNATI, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2010 – In today’s workplace, the lines between executive and manager and professional are blurring, as right-sizing, rapid transition and ever-increasing pressures for speed and adaptability change the rules of business leadership. Communicating effectively from every level—and making the most of every communications experience—matter more than ever, and one of Xavier Leadership Center’s newest programs is helping local business people take their communication skills to new heights.

Offered both as an in-company experience or to the general public via open enrollment programs, Influencing Without Authority helps anyone wishing to learn how to engage and influence others to gain their support. According to Len Brzozowski, Executive Director at Xavier Leadership Center, “It’s a fundamental leadership skill that applies to every level of the organization. Great leadership is less about exerting power and authority, and more about influencing the way others think, feel, and then act. Whether you are a senior executive or a project leader, these techniques can dramatically improve your ability to drive change.”

One of the keys to this program is its team of facilitators, led by Rocco Dal Vera, a renowned voice and speech expert and professor of Theatre at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati. With more than 20 years as an actor and coach, Dal Vera uses proven techniques for relationship leadership, combined with concepts of Micro-Messaging and Neuro-Linguistic Programming, to help participants understand the messages they’re sending—and to better read those same signals and others. With these tools, participants can be better prepared for even the most challenging of situations—including negotiating for a raise or a new position, diffusing anger or high emotion, managing conflict or leading teams in crisis. The result? A powerful and transformative experience. As Dal Vera explains, “Most of what we teach is extremely subtle, but quite powerful. When you can control something consciously that others can only respond to unconsciously, you have extraordinary influence.”

Xavier University is a private university located in Cincinnati, Ohio, providing a liberal arts education in the Catholic, Jesuit tradition. Founded in 1831, the university is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation. U.S. News & World Report ranks it No. 3 among master’s-level universities in the Midwest, and The Princeton Review names it as one of the “Best 373 Colleges in America.”

The Xavier Leadership Center is an extension of Xavier University and provides transformational learning experiences for individuals, teams and organizations. The cornerstone to our approach is “facilitated learning,” which challenges participants to actively implement the concepts we teach under the guidance of our team, a blend of Xavier professors and experienced business professionals.
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